I was with VS for nearly 7 years, but took my redundancy after the 9/11 fiasco, faced with the prospect of 20 years flying the same routes on the same aeroplane. I am often asked by colleagues ... is it a good company ? The answer is yes, but only when compared with the alternatives. It is quite secure, with a good contractual package but it is not the company it was (but then no company is ...). My friends who still work there do not like it anymore ... mainly for the monotony and lack of respect at all levels. But it is still a good income, and in the UK that is to be valued. When asked BA or VS .. ? I say leave it to fate, and take the first one to offer you a job ....
With hindsight was it a good move for me to leave the B744 ?? Yes and No .. I did not see the 50% payrise 6 months after I left ... and I would not have been made redundant 7 months ago (took 6 months to find another job, but am very happy now ..). On the other hand I have flown all Boeings (except the B777), in every far flung corner of the World, with the constant anticipation of where I would be flying next ... which I like ...
The people I flew with in VS were great, but so are the huge international variety I have met since ... what I do enjoy more, on the periphery of aviation is the freedom and autonomy a Command gives you ... does that have a monetary value ... well no, but it is rewarding.
No company is ever "what it was" ... but it is a difficult World, and although opportunity does exist it is very hard found ... so if you can get into VS then you should have a long, stable but maybe routine career ...
I.Duke